I've wanted to comment on C-Span and Washington Journal since the start of this blog. Somehow it was hard to get the right handle on what I wanted to say. When I heard Amy Goodman on the air this morning I couldn't stand it any more and had to comment.
First article Washington Post on Jack Abramoff. Second article Washington Post from last Thursday March 23, 2006 Jack Abramoff. Third article U.S. News. Forth article C Q Weekly. Fifth article U.S. News & World Report. Sixth article Weekly Standard. Seventh article New York Daily News. Eighth article New York Daily News. Ninth article Washington Times. Tenth article LA Times. Eleventh article New York Times. Twelfth article George Wills column. Thirteenth article op-ed Washington Times. The main theme seemed to be the Republicans are heading up a culture of corruption.
Amy Goodman on the spectrum from liberal to conservative falls between Mother Jones and The Nation. Pacifica Radios host of Democracy Now. Claims to be a journalist not just a commentator.
Amy feels it is hard to get the truth out of the Bush Administration. Regarding future Presidents deciding troop levels in Iraq. Amy feels that the current conditions in Iraq are a catastrophe.
She seems to be surprised that the conflict continues. We are at war. She focuses on the negative reports of our soldiers killing civilians after a road side bomb goes off. This is under investigation and if wrong doing was involved people will be brought to justice.
Question about Lara Ingram's remarks this last week.
Amy " There is not very much good news coming out of Iraq right now." She references the two examples of possible wrong doing that came out and are under investigation. She implies that these are only two incidents. That there were probably more that were covered up.
Then she goes right into how disturbing it was that the Pentagon is now paying reports to put articles in the Iraq papers. (I believe that practice was stopped over a month ago.) She claims that 1.6 Billion dollars was spent to plant good news stories. Stories that were true. She asserts that the Iraqis don't believe the occupation is good news and when they see a good news story in the paper they then distrust the paper.
R. Emmett Tyrrell of the American Spectator - on the spectrum Liberalism to Conservative between Wall Street Journal (editorial) and National Review.
Asked what about the Democrats?
The Democrat that stands out for her is Russ Fiengold who voted against the Patriot act and introduced the censure resolution. ( At this point she goes all over the place and I will try to address all her assertions.) She asserts that the lines between conservatives and progressives (progression towards socialism, why can't they call them selves liberals) are breaking down over the Patriot act. Then she goes into corporate control and privacy as other examples where the right and left are coming together. From there she asserts that the war is being protested at the highest levels in the Pentagon. ( I've tried to show that the left over the last 50 years has put into the bureaucracies of the government at all level Judaical, military, EPA, CIA, FBI, universities, state department, etc. a philosophy of moving towards socialism.) She then sights Jack Murha "who spoke of the calamity that is Iraq" she assert many believe he was channeling the generals when he protested the way the war is being conducted. Then she goes right into the spying at home. That the Bush Administration can do this without warrants concerns everyone. (This has been looked into and I believe most think that he does have the authority under the Constitution and the war powers act. It was not spying at home it was surveillance of over seas calls to suspected agents in our country.) Back to the censure resolution she is so surprised that he could not even get Democrats to back him. (He's out of the main stream.) She thinks that the fact that Hilary is against the war is "deeply frustrating to the American people. That conservatives and progressives are united. More than half the people in this country and I dare say many many people in the military as well are opposed to this invasion. But they don't see an opposition party that is expressing these views. The Democrats are not speaking out against war are not calling for a withdrawal." (Most of the military has re-upped since 9-11. No one is fighting that is against this liberation. The Democrats are not standing up against the war because despite the polls most people are not against the war.)
Question from a caller. What about the corporatization of the media?
Amy asserts that the major issue of the day is to have an independent media. (I couldn't agree more.) Amy thinks that the media, the drive by media as Rush calls it, looks at the world through a corporate lens. She thinks that if we had an accurate description of what was going on in Iraq (not the picture's of every car bomb and suicide bomber) the people wouldn't stand for it. ( With the coverage we have the media is trying to turn the country against the war. The polls reflect this.)
She actually said that the images from Iraq are sanitized. Then she wants to talk about coverage of Hurricane Katrina (I think only to get her one funny line, I'm a professional comic) so she can refer to Chenny as the shooter. Now that's funny.
She believes Bush lies and that the corporate media acts as a megaphone for his lies. ( The parallel reality)
Then Amy goes off on the Chevron and Nigeria's oil dictatorship creating a crisis which continues to this day.
Another question about corporate media from a caller.
Amy thinks that what matters is who owns the channels. (Wrong !! What matters is the liberal reporters and executives that run the news rooms.) Amy's idea of an independent media is a far left view of the world.
Amy is for Judaical activism where international law is referenced not just the constitution. She wants the International Criminal Court of Justice to take precedences. She thinks that Latin American countries turning to socialism is a good thing.
Amy can't get over the fact that WMD's were not found. That Bush lied and the corporate media repeated the lie. (Everyone thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the invasion, remember??) For Amy it is the descending opinions that must be looked for that is the honest media. The media is there to hold those in power accountable.
Amy believes that decent is healthy. (So do I.) But Amy thinks the role of the media is to make decent common place.
Next segment R. Emmett Tyrrell, American Spectator, a good counter point to Amy Goodman.
The callers on the left seem to be very angry to say the least. One that thought Amy Goodman answered the questions with facts and honesty is a good example.
Military Commissions
The Supreme Court will decide if Hamdan driver for Bin Ladin should be put on trial by military tribunal or in the judicial courts.
Does the administration have the right to use military commissions to take military combatants to trial rather than use the courts.
Lt. Cmdr Charles Swift argues that the international law, congress and the courts should decide not a military tribunal. That this is a new war and should not follow the traditional rules of war.
Bradford Berenson for the administration states that illegal combatant should be judged by a military tribunal.
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